The present invention relates to a capsule of the kind used to cover the upper portion of the neck of a bottle, the mouth of which has been closed by a cork, screw-cap, bung or other form of closure. The exposed parts of the capsule provide a tamper-evidence cover for the bottle, and an ornamental addition to the bottle.
More particularly, according to the present invention, there is provided a bottle having a neck, the mouth of which is closed by a bung, cork, screw-cap or other form of closure, the upper portion of the neck of the bottle and the exposed portion of the applied closure being covered by a capsule formed from a material such as lead, an alloy of tin and lead, tin, aluminum or any of these materials laminated with a synthetic resin film, the sides of the capsule being deformed inwardly into close contact with the surface of the neck of the bottle and any exposed laterally-facing surface of the closure, whereby the capsule is retained on the closure and provides a tamper-evident cover for the closure.
Hitherto, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a capsule comprises a cap portion 1, a skirt portion 2, and a tearable guarantee strip 3 connecting the cap portion 1 and the skirt portion 2. Weakening lines 4 and 5 are provided, respectively, at a boundary between the tearable guarantee strip 3 and the cap portion 1, and at a boundary between the tearable guarantee strip 3 and the skirt portion 2. The weakening lines 4 and 5 generally extend ground the circumference of the capsule by compressing a capsule body with a cutting knife in the direction of thickness like a perforation. A pulling tab 6 is also formed on one end of the tearable guarantee strip 3 for starting the removal by tearing. Accordingly, when pulling the tab 6 formed on the tearable guarantee strip 3 outwardly in the circumferential direction of the bottle, the tearable guarantee strip 3 is gradually torn and removed along the weakening lines 4 and 5 from the tear starting ends 7, 17 toward the tear terminating ends 8, 18 due to less strength of these lines formed compressively like a perforation. After completely removing the tearable guarantee strip 3 and the cap portion 1, the bottle is unsealed or open.
A problem, however, exists in that, at the time of removing the metallic capsule by manually pulling up the cap portion 1, it is possible for one's fingers to feel pain or to be injured due to burrs (projections with sharp edges) formed on the torn edge of the cap portion 1. This problem has recently been recognized as a result of the introduction of soft tin or soft aluminum employed for the capsule material.
To overcome this problem, there has been proposed for preventing the tearable edge of the cap portion 1 and the skirt portion 2 from producing burrs a variation, as disclosed in the International Publication No. WO 93/02936. This variation resides in the arrangement of individual compressed parts each forming the weakening lines 4 and 5, in such a manner that it becomes difficult to produce burrs on the tearable edges of the skirt portion 2 and the cap portion 1.